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Jōichirō Yukihira
}} |kanji = 幸平 城一郎 |romaji = Yukihira Jōichirō |alias = Stray Cat (野良猫 Noraneko) By Fumio Daimidō Asura (修羅) - Tōtsuki Nickname Jōichirō Saiba - Original Name |status = Alive |age = 37 Shokugeki no Soma chapter 1 page 4 |gender = Male |height = |family = Sōma Yukihira (Son) |cuisine style = Yukihira Style Recipes |food forte = |generation = 69th |occupation = Freelance chef |affiliation = Restaurant Yukihira (Former) |manga = Chapter 1 |anime = Episode 1 |voice actor = Rikiya Koyama (Anime & Vomic)Banjou Ginga, Rina Hidaka Join Food Wars: Shokugeki no Sōma CastThe C.V. list on the official Vomic website Jay Hickman (English) }} , formerly known as , is the father of Sōma Yukihira. He was a 69th Tōtsuki Generation student, a former resident of the Polar Star Dormitory, and previously started out as a 7th seat of the Elite Ten Council as a freshman before being promoted to 2nd seat during his third year. Due to pressure received by his peers to keep being the best in Tōtsuki, he subsequently left the Academy by the suggestion of Senzaemon Nakiri. He never returned, causing him to not graduate. Nonetheless, he is a prodigious chef, who is looked up to by all. Appearance Jōichirō has long, brown hair which is swept back, save for a single group of bangs that hangs over his face down to his chin. Even when cooking, all of his hair is tied back except for that one strand. His eyes are sharper and more serious than his son and he has a slight beard on his chin. His body is well toned and generally, wears firm fitting shirts and pants. His outfits when shown are usually his standard Yukihira cooking uniform or a professional white chef's uniform when cooking in New York. Upon his return to Polar Star Dormitory, he wore a tight black shirt and slacks. In his youth, Jōichirō's overall appearance resembles Sōma's current appearance. His hair was just as unkempt but missing his signature long bang and much shorter. His eyes were much more relaxed and carefree. Unlike Gin, Jōichirō's coat was always unbuttoned, his tie was rarely tied up to his neck and his undershirt was always open. Personality Like his son, Jōichirō is laid back but professional and has a serious side that emerges whenever he is cooking. His skills in the kitchen are world famous, and his passion for cooking knows no bounds. The flavor of his dishes are so spectacular, it even made a high priest renounce his religious faith's fasting traditions to be able to taste Joichiro's cooking again. He is noted to have a "manly" aura about him, drawing the boys of the Polar Star to see him as a big brother figure while the girls found him very attractive. His suave personality got him numerous admirers back in his Tōtsuki days who in turn became dish taste testers. Although most were horrified by the taste of his failed dishes, his admirers, for the most part, did not seem to mind it in the end. As the sole parental figure in Sōma's life, he is a mentor, teacher, and rival to his son, though he never pushed Sōma to become a chef, allowing Sōma to develop that interest on his own. Jōichirō is, if anything, supportive of his son and the two share the same habit of creating horrible dishes. He purposely left home to work in New York so Sōma would have to attend Tōtsuki and motivated him by telling him that he needs to succeed in Tōtsuki if he ever wants to surpass him. Despite this, Jōichirō does occasionally like to see Sōma stressed and frustrated by challenging him to many cook-offs which have always ended in Jōichirō's victory. Again though, this is to show Sōma how much more he has to grow. During his time at Tōtsuki, he was much more relaxed and carefree but still retained his horrible experimental cooking habit even back then. Fumio noted that because of his nature in his youth, he lost many Shokugekis because of his lack of drive or simply underestimating his opponents due to his own laziness. Jōichirō was a main driving force and a pioneer of the Polar Star Golden Era, but unlike his fellow Polar Star friend Gin Dōjima who Fumio compared to a loyal dog, Jōichirō is likened to a stray cat for his wandering habits. It is due to this talent that Jōichirō had the habit of making horrible dishes. Gin noted that it was his only way to release steam from the pressure he received from his peers. However, when insulted or tested, Jōichirō displayed utter ruthlessness against his opponents and sometimes even displayed some cockiness in his abilities, even challenging a group of fifty opponents simultaneously by himself. This made him both respected and feared by many students at Tōtsuki at the time. Even in his later year, he retained his serious aura in cooking duels and many individuals still hold profound respect for Jōichirō including Gin, Senzaemon, Fumio, and Azami Nakiri. This lead to him earning the nickname "Asura" by his fellow classmates, a name that has endured for several decades after his departure from the academy. History Originally known as Jōichirō Saiba, Jōichirō was a legendary Tōtsuki student who passed the academy tests with little difficulty. He passed Fumio Daimidō's entrance exam into the Polar Star Dormitory and became one of the central pillars of the Polar Star Golden Era. Along with his fellow 69th Generation Polar Star friend Gin Dōjima, Jōichiro eventually entered the Elite Ten Council, earning the 2nd seat just below Gin because he kept on not doing paperwork and was late to class ever so often, even though he was the best cook of the generation according to Gin. The two also faced off against each other in the final round of their Autumn Election. He has a record of 101 wins in 121 cooking duels against Gin. He also became acquainted with a 74th Generation Polar Star student, Jun Shiomi whom he used as a taste tester for many of his experimental dishes. Though Jōichirō remembered those times fondly, Jun did not. Lastly, Azami Nakamura, a Polar Star member a year younger than him began to idolize Jōichirō for his impressive skill. By the end of his first year, Jōichirō had acquired the 7th seat of the Elite Ten Council. He was also selected to participate in BLUE, a prestigious cooking competition for upcoming chefs. Some of the upperclassmen felt cheated by his selection over them, so Jōichirō challenged them to a Régiment de Cuisine, where he alone would face off against all of his opponent's team. Jōichirō proceeded to crush all of his opponents with utter ruthlessness, most giving up because of his fearsome tenacity and his unrivaled natural skill. Previously, Jōichirō was known as a "genius" and "trailblazer", but the utter despair left after every single match in his opponents earned him the nickname Asura. By his third year, Jōichirō had acquired the 2nd Seat of the Elite Ten Council and became the most notable member of the Polar Star Dormitory at the time. Jōichirō had continued to participate in numerous cooking battles, each either resulting in total victory or the opponent withdrawing immediately upon seeing his name as their opponent. Despite his overwhelming success, Jōichirō began to lose sight of himself, wondering what to do after winning BLUE. Looking at his exhausted, marred appearance, Jōichirō mysteriously disappeared and missed the competition. Gin eventually found him in the Chandra's Room where he faced off against Jōichirō at the end of their Autumn Election. As Jōichirō pondered what he was going to go after, Senzaemon appeared and suggested that he leave the country and do some soul searching. Jōichirō accepted the idea and promptly departed from the academy, never to return or graduate from it. After departing from Tōtsuki, Jōichirō became a freelance chef, traveling the world, learning various cooking techniques and acquiring special ingredients from different cultures. Through his travels, Jōichirō eventually began to cook again, rekindling his reputation and becoming one of the most infamous chefs around the world. Around the age of 23, Jōichirō was married and had a newborn son, Sōma Yukihira. During his early fatherhood, he eventually took up the last name Yukihira and returned to Japan to run a small special of the day shop Restaurant Yukihira in the Sumiredōri Shopping District. Eventually, he called Gin to let him know he was back in Japan with family. Unfortunately, the phone connection was poor so he was unable to give Gin his address or the complete name of his restaurant before going back to work. His shop became a local favorite by people of all ages. Still, Jōichirō from time to time would still work for many important people around the world. At the age of 28, Jōichirō was summoned to the Nakiri Mansion by Senzaemon to discuss a matter of importance. During his visit, he met a young Erina Nakiri. Though Senzaemon told her to go back to her room so he could continue to discuss something with Jōichirō, Erina's stomach growled. Jōichirō immediately prepared a dish just for her and with a single bite, Erina was completely enthralled not just by the unique taste of his dish, but also by Jōichirō's charm. This event became a turning point in Erina's life and she requested for a photo of the two together, a notion Jōichirō happily obliged. She also asked for his name and if he would ever taste her dishes. Jōichirō promised he would only do so when she becomes a great chef herself.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 168, pages 5-15 Fatherhood As Sōma grew up, he eventually developed an interest in cooking, even stating that he wanted to be a better chef than him. Sōma first challenged his father when he was in sixth grade. Jōichirō initially dismissed Sōma's statement as an innocent declaration and even thought that his son would stop after he lost to him in a couple of times. To his surprise, however, Sōma stubbornly refused to give up. Jōichirō taught Sōma only a few cooking skills, but Sōma continued to learn culinary skills from watching his father operate his restaurant. Eventually, seeing his son's progress, Jōichirō allowed him to create his own dishes for the Yukihira menu. Though Jōichirō said Sōma's cooking was good, he also said that his son lacked the skill and the source of motivation to cook the perfect dish. In one flashback, Sōma was seen being overwhelmed by the huge surge of customers. Unable to keep up with the pace and his nerves getting the best of him, the inexperienced Sōma felt his hands go numb and his mind blank. In order to combat this, Jōichirō used the tactic of slapping his hands together to calm Sōma down. Though confused at first, Sōma later learned that, in Jōichirō's opinion, panic and lack of self-confidence due to unexpected pressure is a chef's greatest weakness. He advised that if Sōma finds himself in a similar situation again, he should use his imagination to power through it. This influenced Sōma through various challenges, despite the daunting handicaps and restrictions that plagued his life at Tōtsuki. He also kept his father's hand clapping technique in mind, in case any of his partners needed the same boost. Sometime after Sōma entered his 6th year of school, Jōichirō began a long tradition of challenging his son to cooking duels to see who could make a better dish. Just before sending his son to his old school, Jōichirō held a 489 consecutive winning streak without a single loss. Plot Jōichirō's Decision Main article: Introduction Arc Jōichirō started his 489th cooking duel against Sōma, which resulted in his victory. Just as the Restaurant Yukihira closed for the night, an urban planner, Yaeko Minegasaki, entered trying to convince the Yukihiras to sell their shop but Sōma spoke on behalf of the restaurant, burning her business card on the grill and declaring that they would only close up the shop if they could not fulfill a customer's request. The next day, Jōichirō called Sōma over the phone, informing him that he got errands to run and closed up the restaurant until tomorrow. He asked Sōma about his plans after he finishes middle school then hung up on him. After Sōma won the bet against Yaeko and started to clean the awning, Jōichirō returned to announce that he will close down the restaurant for three years. Jōichirō also told Sōma that it was time to part from Restaurant Yukihira, to go out in the world and measure his ability. Jōichirō recommended that Sōma attend Tōtsuki Culinary Academy during the three-year closure as suggested to him by the headmaster of Tōtsuki, Senzaemon Nakiri. Shokugeki no Soma chapter 135, page 19 A few weeks later, while working in New York, Jōichirō phoned Sōma, who arrived at the academy to take the entrance examination and informed him that Tōtsuki is a prestigious culinary school and if he could not graduate from there, he had no hope of surpassing him. With his competitive spirit ignited by these words, Sōma hung up his phone before Jōichirō could tell him the secret in becoming a good chef, which is to meet a woman that will make you want to give all the food you make to her. Sōma's Life in Tōtsuki Academy Jōichirō makes two cameo appearances in the beginning of Sōma's life in Tōtsuki. After Sōma was challenged by Satoshi Isshiki to a cooking duel, he revealed that Jōichirō taught him the French cooking technique, Poêle. Following the duel, Sōma also mentioned that he wanted to earn his father's respect by becoming the academy's top. In preparation of the Shokugeki ''between the Don RS and Ikumi Mito, Sōma was given financial shortcomings by Jōichirō, and remembered that his father would send him living expenses every once a while. Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp ''Main article: Training Camp Arc Jōichirō makes numerous cameo appearances throughout the Training Camp. First, after Sōma bonded with Gin Dōjima, after overhearing Sōma's last name, Yukihira, Gin sensed something familiar about that name. During the Shokugeki against Kojirō Shinomiya, Megumi Tadokoro's stage fright began to get the best of her. Sōma employed one of Jōichirō's old tricks in case something like that happened. During the Breakfast Egg dish task, when Sōma found himself in a pinch, Sōma remembered his father's words to stay calm and visualize what to do. At the end of the camp, as Sōma prepared to leave, Gin saw a visage of Jōichirō over Sōma and later confirmed that Sōma was Jōichirō's son. Erina, in the meantime, had forgotten a diary in her hotel room that contained a photo of herself as a young child alongside her cooking idol, Jōichirō. The Asura of Cooking Main article: Tōtsuki Autumn Election Arc As the participants for the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election were announced, Fumio was preparing a celebration for the comeback of the Golden Age at Polar Star Dormitory. Jōichirō unexpectedly arrived at the dormitory and greeted Fumio, who nostalgically said he should at least call ahead of time if he planned to come back, lacking the little common sense as he has ever. Afterwards, Sōma returned to Polar Star where, upon entering the kitchen, he found Jōichirō cooking. Fumio told everyone that Jōichirō was a former Polar Star member and a 2nd seat in the Elite Ten Council, much to Sōma's surprise. However, Sōma surprised the dorm further by revealing that Jōichirō is his father. Jōichirō was greeted by Satoshi as a fellow member of the Elite Ten. Jōichirō then revealed a lavish feast for the Polar Star residents, his dishes were well received by everyone for their international aspects. All of Polar Star females and even some of the males, Zenji Marui and Daigo Aoki were charmed by his mature, manly sex appeal. Unfortunately, Zenji ate one of Jōichirō's "failed" dishes, revealing how Sōma picked up the same habit to everyone else. Fumio mentioned Jōichirō was once called an "Asura" but now he cooks with kindness. Then she showed a picture of Jōichirō and Gin back in their second year in Tōtsuki Academy, adding that these two were the central pillars that bought upon the Polar Star's Golden Age. Afterwards, Jōichiro revealed that Sōma's room, Room 303, was previously his room as well. Sōma found a burnt hole on the flooring that Jōichirō had pointed out. Later that night, Jōichirō spoke with Satoshi, who learned much of Sōma's source of strength. It was not an innate talent, but Sōma's courage and ability to push through trial and error to get where he wants to. The next day, Jōichirō woke Sōma up early and summoned him to the kitchen to test Sōma in another cooking duel. At the time Satoshi, Fumio, and Megumi were awake and the three served as judges. Tasked with the challenge of making a revitalizing breakfast, Sōma and Jōichirō began their challenge. Sōma presented his dish first, an Apple Risotto. The dish was well received by the judges, but Jōichirō's Jōichirō Special Rich Ramen ultimately won in the end because it did not only revitalized the judges, but it was also hearty and filling. In the aftermath of the battle, Jōichirō praised Sōma for how much he had grown and encouraged him to continue doing so. However, he took a few seconds to throw some verbal jabs at Sōma as he marked this as another loss in his journal. Just later, Yūki Yoshino entered the room to reveal their dish theme for the Preliminaries: Curry. As Jōichirō prepared to leave, he suggested that Sōma should see Jun Shiomi, a spice expert and an old friend from the Polar Star Golden Era for input. When Sōma and Megumi was getting ready to head off, Fumio told them Jōichirō had already departed. As Erina returned to the Academy after performing her duty as an Elite Ten member, during her car ride back, Erina sensed Jōichirō's presence, who had just left Polar Star Dormitory. Erina immediately stopped the car and jumped out, hoping to catch a glimpse of her idol. To her dismay, he was nowhere in sight. Nakiri Cousins' Holiday Main article: Natsuyasumi no Erina During the month break during summer, in a public pool area, Alice Nakiri asked Erina if she ever had a crush, which Erina cryptically recalled her "special someone" whose cooking was perfect by her standards. However, Alice teased her that she truly does not understand love when Erina denied ever wanting to date him. The 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election During the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election's opening, as Senzaemon Nakiri delivered his speech, Jōichirō and other alumni were pictured as a source of inspiration and endeavor to the students of the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation. After Alice presented her Temari Bento to the judges. Sōma followed up by presenting his Evolved Nori Bento and questioned if her bento is amazing as it should be. In a flashback, a young Sōma was shown really attached to Kiyo, calling her grandmother. Jōichirō revealed Sōma never knew his real grandmother, and treated Kiyo as such. When Sōma and Megumi remained after-hours at the fish market, Sōma reminisced when he was 11 years old, picking sardines with his father. Jōichirō explained to Sōma about picking the best fish in the market, telling him it would take more than 10 years to master judging them as fast he could. After the conclusion of the 43rd Autumn Election, Jōichirō called Sōma, asking about the results of the match. Jōichirō was informed by his son that he was glad to have left home to attend Tōtsuki, and vowed to find something to make his cooking even more special. Albeit, Sōma did not hear his father's thoughts, Jōichirō stated that Sōma would continue to grow as long as he continued to meet the right individuals as he has so far in Tōtsuki. Central Main article: Central Arc During a job, Jōichirō bumped into Gin who was there in the area for a business meeting for Tōtsuki. Although initially annoyed that Jōichirō had not contacted him in a long time, Gin eventually happily greeted his old friend, even mentioning that he met Sōma a couple of times. As the two sat down for a little bit, Gin received a phone call from the Academy, receiving the alarming news that Senzaemon was forced to step down as Tōtsuki Academy's director and with Azami Nakiri replacing him, much to Jōichirō's shock. Jōichirō makes a small cameo later when Erina takes temporary refuge at the Polar Star Dormitory. When the residents wanted to have Erina try out their dishes, Sōma was one of them. As he tied his apron on to begin making a dish, Erina saw a visage of Jōichirō over Sōma, much to her confusion. Later that night, after Azami paid his old dorm a visit, Sōma revealed that Jōichirō was his father to both Azami and Erina. The news slightly surprised Azami and shocked Erina, however, the father-daughter Nakiris was curious as to why they both knew Jōichirō. As Azami pondered the news, he realized that there may have been more of a set up to these coincidences. Sōma, on the other hand, realized that the upcoming battle against Azami was centered around something with Jōichirō in the past. Promotion Exams Main Article: Promotion Exams Arc After the third stage of the 92nd Generation's Promotion Exams, much of the 92nd Generation had been expelled after losing their duel exams. The lone survivors were Sōma, Megumi, and Takumi. As Erina pleaded to her father to overturn the expulsions over his deaf ears, Sōma requested a Shokugeki team battle for Elite Ten Seats. Though Azami initially refused, Jōichirō made a surprise appearance. Jōichirō approved of the idea and managed to convince Azami to go through with the team battle, a Régiment de Cuisine. Though Azami declared that there was nothing for Jōichirō to offer by losing, Jōichirō promised to abandon Restaurant Yukihira and fully commit to Azami's regime as a soldier of his ideals. Thrilled by the notion of having his beloved senpai in his crusade, Azami accepted the condition. Looking at the students he had to work with, Jōichirō told the four that they would be going through a brutal training regiment to prepare. On the train to the next exam, Jōichirō was approached by Sōma who wanted to know more about his history and why he had left Tōtsuki. After explaining his previous situation to Sōma, he was shocked to see that his son had fallen asleep through his explanation. Cooking Style Jōichrō is a legendary chef has been so as far back as his days in Tōtsuki. He was widely considered the greatest upcoming chef at the time and held a fearsome reputation for his genius in creating unorthodox cooking combinations that resulted in the most sensational dishes ever created. He was skilled enough to earn the 7th seat of the Elite Ten Council in his 2nd year of High School and the 2nd seat in his 3rd. Despite holding the 2nd Seat under Gin, Gin himself admitted that if Jōichirō had taken things much more seriously, he would have easily been the 1st seat. Even after he left Tōtsuki to do some soul searching, his skill remained unrivaled and even world famous. *'Yukihira Style' - Jōichirō can cook many different foods in many different styles, founding his own cooking style known as the "Yukihira Style". Because of his knowledge of thousands of cooking styles, ingredients, and preparation, Jōichirō's cooking is flexible and unorthodox. Because of this though, much of his "test" cooking ends with terrible results that sometimes leaves the eater in mental shock, though these are rarely served to the public. However, when the cooking counts, his cooking is legendary and world class. Despite this high-class cooking skill, Jōichirō continues to run a Special-of-the-Day shop rather than work in a world class kitchen, but his cooking is appreciated nonetheless. Much of his cooking skill and style has been passed down to Sōma either by directly teaching him or Sōma observing him in action and copying him. Dishes Original Dishes *'Dried Sardines Garnished with Strawberry Jam' - Like his son's Grilled Squid Tentacles Dressed in Peanut Butter, this dish is another Yukihira failed dish. *'Zuppa Di Pesce' - a dish made by Jōichirō for the residents of Polar Star Dormitory in a lavish feast. It is a Ligurian seafood soup with stoccafisso, oysters, clams, and fried shrimps. Parsley is placed on top of the dish as an embellishment. *'Snake Dish' - a dish made by Jōichirō for the residents of Polar Star Dormitory in a lavish feast. This dish is another Yukihira failed dish. *'Jōichirō Special Rich Ramen' - a dish made by Jōichirō during his 490th match against Sōma Yukihira. Despite the ingredients, he used tempeh as the most prominent piece along with vegetarian broth mixed with soy milk and miso. Along with different variations of garnishes and gingers, the dish tastes like ramen with meat or fish. The dish shall revitalize your body, making one look and feel much younger. *'Hujiao Bing' - a dish made by Jōichirō during a summer festival in the Sumiredōri Shopping District, where he was determined to become the best-selling stall. Hujiao Bing is a Taiwanese snack dish made by taking a "meatball" of minced pork spare ribs marinated in black pepper, wrapping it with a dough of all-purpose flour, and baking it in a clay oven. Collaboration Dishes *'Team Saiba's Hachis Parmentier Cooking Duel Records The 20th Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election Misc Cooking Duels Trivia *''Jōichirō'' (城一郎), using the kanji for "castle" (城 Jō), "one" (一 Ichi), and "son" (郎 Rō), could mean "the eldest son of the castle". Yukihira (幸平), using the kanji for "blessing" (幸 Yuki) and "common" or "ordinary" (平 Hira), could roughly translate as "blessing of the ordinary", a reference to the location of his restaurant. His original last name, Saiba (才波), uses the kanji for "aptitude" or "talent" (才 Sai) and "wave" (波 Ba, alternatively pronounced Nami). *Despite being well known in the academy, Jōichirō does not count as an alumnus due to his questionable disappearance. This was confirmed when he later stated that he did not graduate from Tōtsuki Culinary Academy.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 41, page 13 * In Buddhism and Hinduism, Asuras are a group of low-ranking malevolent deities who constantly do battle with the benevolent Devas. Jōichirō shares similar characteristics of an Asura. During his time at Tōtsuki Academy, he constantly challenged other students to ''Shokugekis ''and when he challenged Sōma to a cooking duel at the Polar Star Dormitory, he emanated a dark, malevolent aura around him. *Out of all known Elite Ten Council 2nd Seat holders, Jōichirō is the only known male to have held that position. References Navigation de:Jōichirō Yukihira es:Jōichirō Yukihira zh:幸平城一郎 Category:Chef Category:Male Characters Category:Yukihira Family Category:Elite Ten Council Category:Tōtsuki Autumn Election Participants Category:Shokugeki Participants Category:69th Generation Students